Worship the God you Know

Acts 17:22-34 Sixth Sunday of Easter Year A Worship the God you Know What is Memorial Day It is Memorial Day Weekend, and that can mean a lot of different things. It can mean a long weekend, cook outs, parades. Maybe it is just me, but it seems that the retailers have discovered a new holiday. Memorial Day has always meant sales, but this year I have noticed that every other email that I have gotten this weekend, and every other commercial on tv is an advertisement for someone one’s special sale. Memorial day is the first unofficial day of the summer. For us in the black community, that is a scary thing. It means that it is about to get hot, and that tempers are about to rise. Who knows what the summer will bring. We have to pray. In the midst of all that we have made Memorial Day to mean, let us not forget that there is a real meaning for the day. It is to remember our servicemen who have passed on, in order to preserve our ability to have fun, and our ability to be free. It was actually the black community that first celebrated Memorial Day. They would lay wreaths on the graves of soldiers, whether they were in the union army or the confederate army. From there is seemed to catch on to other communities. It is important for us to remember that we did not get where we are alone. We are here because of the sacrifice of others. In order to remember, we often build memorials, or monuments, or even buildings. So it is fitting that our scripture is about a monument. A monument to an unknown God. Mars Hill A few years ago, I took a trip following in the footsteps of Paul. The trip started in Athens, and the first place that we visited was Mars Hill. I remember there were monuments to different Gods everywhere. And we stood at the monument that Paul stood, dedicated to an unknown God. Legend has it that the city of Athens was in danger, so they set a bunch of sheep to roam around, and they sacrificed them wherever they were. They build monuments where the sheep fell and worshipped the God near that sheep. They noticed that one sheep was laying near a place with no monument, so they built one to an unknown God. Paul was in town trying to tell gentiles about Jesus. He wanted them to become Christians. So he appealed to what he already saw – that they were religious. They were obviously in search for God – but did not know Who God was. Paul wanted them to know. God is the creater. God is the maker, not the made. A monument is not enough to explain who God is. The point of Acts 17 As a matter of fact, Paul reminds us that we live in God, God does not live in us. Our being is dependent on God. God is a judge. As long as we don’t know, things are okay. But once we know God we have to obey God. God is a savior – who saves us through the sacrifice of his son Jesus. The point of the book of Acts The book of Acts is a book of the first sermons about the power of Jesus Christ. Each disciples went our into the world to tell gentiles what they saw in the miracle of Christ. Each disciples depended on the power of the holy spirit in order to change hearts. Paul is talking. Telling his story. After telling his story, most people sneered, some wanted to hear more, only two were willing to give their life to Christ. Most wanted to rely on their own understanding. They were not willing to change. There is a story about Richard J. Daly. We Need Help Some of you are old enough to remember Richard Daly who was mayor of Chicago for 21 years (1955-1976). Mayor Daly was known as a rather forbidding guy to work for. One story goes like this. One of Mayor Daly’s speech writers came in and demanded a raise. Mayor Daly responded as could be expected. He said “I’m not going to give you a raise. You are getting paid more than enough already. It should be enough for you that you are working for a great American hero like myself.” And that was the end of it...or so the mayor thought. Two weeks later Mayor Daly was on his way to give a speech to a convention of veterans. The speech was going to receive nationwide attention. Now one other thing Mayor Daly was famous for was not reading his speeches until he got up to deliver them. So there he stood before a vast throng of veterans and nationwide press coverage. He began to describe the plight of the veterans. “I’m concerned for you. I have a heart for you. I am deeply convinced that this country needs to take care of its veterans. So, today I am proposing a seventeen point plan that includes the city, state and federal government, to care for the veterans of this country.” Now by this time everyone, including Mayor Daly, was on the edge of their seat to hear what the proposal was. He turned the page and saw only these words: “You’re on your own now, you great American hero.” I don't know if Daly learned anything at that moment. With his great ego perhaps he did not. But he should have learned that all of us, no matter how great we think we are, need help. We need advocates who work behind the scenes to make us who we are. God has an advocate for you. He is the Holy Spirit. Story of Daly taken from: Journey Toward God, New Community Small Group study on Exodus (Zondervan), p.33. Brett Blair,www.eSermons.com Sometimes when I think of a monument to an unknown God, I think of the church. Because there are still so many people outside of the church who don’t know God, and don’t know what they are missing by not coming inside of the church. The book of Acts was written to give us hope. To help us to remember that the power of God is not in us, but in the holy spirit. We just have to be willing to be used by the spirit. Acts has a very important message for those who call themselves Christians. Being a Christian is more than just feeling good, smiling and being nice. It is more than having peace of mind, givng and going to church. It is worshipping God in Jesus Christ. It is about remembering that our whole being is inside of God. Without the spirit of God in us, we are absolutely nothing. But the good news is that when we look for God, God is very near by. He is always with us. He always helps us. Always Alongside Us A student named Steve Winger from Lubbock, TX was taking a challenging class in Logic. The course and teacher were known for exacting and demanding exams. The final exam was looming, and the professor mercifully told the class that each student would be permitted to bring in a single 8 x 11 ½ inch sheet with as much information as they could put on that one sheet for help during the test. On exam day, each student came to class clutching their precious pieces of paper with as much information as possible. Some students had crammed lines and lines of font so tiny and so numerous onto that single sheet that you had to wonder how they could read it. But Steve walked in with a single blank sheet and a friend who was a senior student and who had an ‘A’ in logic. Steve bent down and placed that single, blank sheet of paper on the floor next to his desk. His expert friend stood on the paper. The professor noticed the extra body in the room and asked what he was doing. Steve piped up, “You said we could bring in whatever we could fit on a single piece of paper for help on this test, well, this is my help and he can fit on the paper!” He had followed the instructions to the letter and was the only student in that class to score an ‘A’ since he had his expert friend standing alongside him. The Holy Spirit is like that friend, standing alongside us, supporting us, and guiding us. Adapted from an unknown source, Staff, www.Sermons.com The message of all of Acts for us is that the spirit is promised to those who live in God, the spirit is knowable in the risen Christ, the spirit makes a difference in our lives. Paul reminds us that our life does not have to be a monument to an unknown God. We have to know that God is present in the resurrected Christ. If we remember that, the spirit will do the rest. I want to end as I started, with a story about memorial day. An anonymous e-mail tells a story we need to hear on this Memorial Day weekend. It’s about an old man and his wife sitting in the parking lot of a supermarket. The hood is up on their car. Evidently they are having engine problems. A young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm walks in the direction of the elderly couple. The old gentleman emerges from the car and takes a few steps in the young man’s direction. He points to the open hood and asks the young man for assistance. The young man puts his grocery bag into his expensive SUV, turns back to the old man and yells at him: “You shouldn’t even be allowed to drive a car at your age.” And then with a wave of his hand, he gets into his car and speeds out of the parking lot. The old gentleman pulls out his handkerchief, mops his brow and goes back to his car. Again he looks at the engine. He then goes to his wife and appears to reassure her that things will be okay. A stranger approaches the old man. “Looks like you’re having a problem,” he says. The old man smiles sheepishly, and quietly nods his head. The stranger looks under the hood of the car, but he has no more expertise with automobile engines than the old man. He assures the elderly gentleman he will return and heads to a nearby service station. He explains the situation to a mechanic and says he will pay him if he would help the elderly couple with their car. Returning with the mechanic, the stranger gets into a conversation with the old gentleman. The stranger is wearing a ring signifying that he had been a Marine. Coincidentally, so had the old man. He confides that he had served in some of the harshest battles in our nation’s history, including Guadalcanal and Okinawa. He had retired from the Marine Corps after the war. After the car was repaired and running, the old gentleman handed a card to the stranger and they shook hands and parted. A little while later the stranger happened to look at the card. The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name was written: Congressional Medal of Honor Society. It was only then that the former Marine realized that he had come to the aid of one of America’s heroes. Just a reminder this Memorial Day weekend that there are men and women who have served their country, and received very little in return. It is only right that we recognize their sacrifice and honor their memory this holiday weekend. As we remember the sacrifice of those unnamed men and women – let us remember the sacrifice of Jesus crist for our sins. So that we can have life and have it abundantly. Amen. Children’s Sermon WHAT IS GOD MADE OF? by Wesley T. Runk Passage: Acts 17:16-34 • Lectionary: Easter 6 Item 26 of 36 | Back to Results Objects: A statue in marble or bronze, a painting of some classical origin depicting God or a likeness of Him, and then maybe a rock, leaf or wood carving. A four leaf clover or a lucky penny Good morning (evening) to you boys and girls and how are you on this beautiful day? This is our third time together and so that means that we get to talk about one of the questions that you have wondered about so often. Remember we have already asked where God is, and how old is God? Today we have an especially difficult question for you and for everybody. We want to know what God is made of, and that is especially hard since no one has ever felt God. For instance if I could tell you that God felt like steel or fur or mud you would know what kind of material God is made of. A long time ago, boys and girls, people thought that their God's were made of things like this statue I have here. Do you know what I mean'? People thought that this statue was a god and they put the statue on a shelf and everybody thought that their house was protected from any kind of evil spirits. This statue is made of marble. Other people liked to think their god was made in the form of a painting and they had a great artist paint them a copy so that everyone would picture god in the same way. A real long time ago, boys and girls, there were people who believed that their god lived in a rock like this or in a tree or in a very fast running river. That's what people used to think. Today some people have other kinds of gods, although they don't call them gods. Some people have to have something that they can feel. Let me show you what I mean. Have you ever seen someone carry one of these? (Hold up a four leaf clover or a rabbit's foot). What is it? That's right, a rabbit's foot. People think if they rub that rabbit's foot nothing will happen to them and that everything will be all right. They trust the rabbit foot, or a four leaf clover. Or some people I know carry a lucky penny in their pocket and rub it whenever they need something to happen. People like to feel their god and know what He is made of, but our God tells us that He is a spirit, something that you cannot even see, or touch or smell or feel. He is different than anything else that we know. And that is one of the reasons that He is God. There is nothing else like him in the whole world. He does not like us to make other things and call them god and when people trust in pennies or rocks or gold or anything else, then God gets very angry. What is a Spirit? That is a good question. You know that He is near and He speaks to you in prayer but you can't reach out and touch Him, nor can you hear Him. Do you remember what it's like when you go to school or away from home and you get lonely and wish that your mother was very near but you can't go and find her? When you think about her you get very warm and just thinking makes you feel better all over. Well in a way that is a spirit because even though you can't feel or see or hear or taste her you still know that she loves you and will be there when you get home. God is a spirit and while we don't know what He is made of we do know that the Bible teaches that He is not made of anything like rocks, or pennies. God is a spirit. Questions Children Ask About God, Wesley T. Runk, CSS Publishing Co., Inc., 1971, 0-89536-199-X Back to Results | Item 26 of 36 Other illustrations not used…… I’ve purchased a town lot in heaven On the city not built with hand, I’m sending material daily To build in that happy land. I’d like a mansion on Main Street, Where streets are all paved with gold. With a clear view of the pearly gates Where Christ takes care of the soul. I want to send good material That will stand the test of time, So I’ll not be disappointed When I reach that home sublime. Prayer is for the foundation, Faith and love for the walls, Good deeds for the reinforcement, That will stand when the Saviour calls. I would like you for my neighbor In that city so divine— Maybe just across the street Or your home close to mine. Up there we will know no sorrow, Tears will never dim the eyes. There we will rest in peace forever In that happy home on high. So my friends, start to building Your home beyond the sky Where we can all be together In the sweet by and by. —Author Unknown In the nineteenth century people who passed the Rothschild mansion in the fashionable quarter of London noticed that the end of one of the cornices was unfinished. The question may be asked: Could not the richest man in the world afford to pay for that cornice, or was the lack due to carelessness? The explanation is a very simple yet suggestive one when it is known. Lord Rothschild was an orthodox Jew, and every pious Jew’s house, tradition says, must have some part unfinished, to bear testimony to the world that its occupant is only, like Abraham, a pilgrim and a stranger upon the earth. —Selected Acts 17:22-31 -- Good and Bad “Magical Thinking” – by Leonard Sweet We live in an age where incredible scientific advancements take place everyday. Take GRIN, the acronym for (G) genetic engineering, (R) robotics, (I) information technology and (N) nanotechnology. The human genome has been mapped. Nanotechnology is constructing miniscule machines that can deliver inter-cellular messages or make molecular level repairs. Astrophysicists have mapped the curvature of the universe, delved into black holes, listened to the echoes of the Big Bang. Scientific inquiry and experiment have revealed the “hows” and “whys” and “whats” never before known. We think we’re so smart. We think we have a handle on how the universe works. So why did the builders of the new Yankee Stadium spend five hours and $50,000 digging through two feet of concrete last week? They did this to extract a David Ortiz Red Sox jersey that had been secretly buried in the concrete floor of the visiting team’s dug out. A construction worker, an unrepentant Red Sox fan, had slipped the jersey into the concrete in order to permanently “jinx” the new Yankee stadium. The story of the jersey finally came to light because another construction worker who had seen the shirt go into the slab got worried and confessed: “I don’t want to be responsible for sinking the franchise,” he said. The stadium, a 1.3 billion dollar project, was brought to a screeching halt; the glowing new future for the Yankees was endangered; immediate, expensive action was taken: why? Because everyone believed in the jinxing power of a piece of cloth submerged down in a concrete floor in a locker room. That was one high-powered hex! Or not. No one can completely escape what has been called “magical thinking” (see Matthew Hutson, “Magical Thinking,” Psychology Today, March-April 2008, 90-95. The subtitle is “Even Hard-Core Skeptics Can’t Help But Find Sympathy in the Fabric of the Universe----And Occasionally Try to Pull Its String”). We “knock on wood,” throw spilled salt over our shoulders, can’t resist reading our horoscopes, always take notice of a “Friday the 13th.” Or if you think you’re immune to “magical thinking,” answer me this: how many of you here this morning wouldn’t think twice about wearing the jacket of a murderer? Little children have that special “blankie” or stuffed animal that magically imparts peace and serenity. But big corporations hire specialists to organize the “feng shui” in their work spaces. Musician George Michael bought the Steinway piano that John Lennon composed his best know work on: “Imagine.” Michael ships this piano off to places that are in need of some kind of spiritual support: to New Orleans after Katrina; to Virginia Tech after the shootings. The piano is put on public display, with its pedigree, open for any and all to sit down and plunk out a few notes, to seek out a bit of solace in its noteworthy presence. No matter how much scientific knowledge we acquire about the world we live in, physical reality is never enough. The human spirit knows there is always more to be revealed, that there is something more out there if we could only lift the veil. Paul’s speech to the Athenians gathered at the elite Court of the Areopagus was designed to get his audience thinking about that inner yearning for “something more,” that “groping” for the “unknown God.” But Paul also warned them that there was a difference between religiosity and righteousness. The God who created the universe, who gave life to human beings, “does not live in shrines made by human hands” (v.24) and is not “an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals” (v.29). Idols of gold, silver, or stone will never contain God, and can never move beyond the “magical” to real faithfulness… _______________________ Service Is Our Highest Honor It is Memorial Day weekend. More than a weekend to frolic in the sun and picnic on the grounds, Memorial Day is a day to remember. Remember we have been bought with a price. Thousands of people have died that you and I might live in the freedom that we regularly take for granted. In World War II alone 406,000 Americans gave their lives. We are bought with a price. So let us not reduce freedom to licentiousness nor rights to unrestraint. Remember there is a reason to be born save to consume the corn, eat the fish and leave behind a dirty dish. Not selfishness, but service is our highest honor. J. Howard Olds, Faith Breaks,www.Sermons.com

In the Family of God

May 18, 2014 I Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 Fifth Sunday of Easter In the Family of God God in the Stone story Theologian Megan McKenna tells of a story that circulates in Italy about Michelangelo and stones. Whether it is true or not is not debated. What it means though is open to interpretation. This is how she heard the story. You decide what it means. Every day, it seems, God would look down from heaven on the earth to watch over his people and to see what they were up to. And every once in awhile God would go to visit his people and dwell with them, though usually no one recognized him. Sooner or later, however, someone would come along and find him and then he would disappear from their sight and return to the heavens. And it seemed that some of his best hiding and watching places were in rocks, stones, canyons, caves, wells, and tombs. Soon there were stories about a stone that Jacob used for a pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending to earth and where he wrestled all night before receiving a blessing from a mysterious angel. And the one about Jacob's well or Sinai's mountain and many about the Temple in Jerusalem. Then Isaiah the prophet promised the presence of a cornerstone (but was it a rock or a person?). "Therefore, says the Lord God: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; the one who puts faith in it shall not be shaken" (Is. 28:16). Then, not so long ago, Jesus came and told his people that it wasn't necessary to worship in certain places anymore. He told a woman at a well: "Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem... an hour is coming, and is already here, when authentic worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth" (John 4:22-23). But then Jesus died on the place of the skull and was buried in a rock-hewn tomb, but escaped from that cave to free us from our caves. It wasn't long, though, before people began building high places and piling stones up to go and worship there. Many years passed and God grew uncomfortable again. People were having trouble recognizing him; they seemed to be looking only in these places that they had built for his honor and glory for his presence and he wondered what he should do about it. One day God's attention was drawn to a commotion that was going on around a man in Italy. This man loved stones. All day he would chisel away at the barren slabs and after time, energy, and painstaking effort, the stone would live. It was almost as if he discovered something alive inside the stone and went about freeing it with a passion. He had set many people free already and this time he was attempting to set God himself free! For years he had been working on one huge piece of marble, and slowly over the years the figure of a woman holding the body of her dead son was emerging from the rock. And this time even God was surprised at what was being born out of stone. He went to Michelangelo and spoke to him. Michelangelo, God said, what are you doing? Lord, he answered, I am setting you free, so that everyone will recognize you not only in stone, but in everything, everyone that dwells on earth, but especially in all those who suffer unjustly and die violently at the hands of others and in those who mourn for the loss of such vibrant life. I don't want people to forget you. And the Lord spoke again to Michelangelo: Do I really dwell in that stone? I know in the past I have often gone to rocks and mountains, wells and tombs, but I don't remember going to dwell in the stone you are working on. And Michelangelo answered God: But my Lord, since your child came to us, you don't have to pick and choose your places of rest; he left your Spirit everywhere we just have to discover it, touch it and reveal it to others. That's what it means to live. The stone is rolled away. Don’t roll it back. Leonard Sweet Sermon, Leonard Sweet, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2014, 0-000-1415 God in the stone in this building I needed to tell that story this morning, helps me with a puzzle. As I have been looking at the narthex outside, fellowship hall, and even the walls here inside of the sanctuary. I have been trying to get into the mind of the architect, and I have been asking him for a few months – what in the world were you thinking when you built this whole structure with concrete. Why concrete? You cant do anything with concrete, but paint it white. The insurance company loves it. But for practical purposes – you cant do presentations in here, because the signal cant travel through the concrete. You cant decorate it. This part of the church will never burn down. St Benard hospital may have plans for the neighborhood, but there is no way that they could knock down these walls. This structure will stand forever. What in the world was the architect thinking. And after hearing that story – I got it. God is in the concrete. And once the building was consecrated, and God was in the building – there was no way he was going to be able to leave. He will be stuck here forever. God is the bedrock Now before you think that is a totally crazy idea, consider Isaiah 28:16 which says - I lay in Isreal a foundation stone. A primodial stone, a rock that does not move. A rock that like this building isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. You can’t move it, or do anything with it. There is a town in the middle east called Petra. Petra means bedrock. And the town is build within the bedrock of a mountain. The people are long gone, but the structure is still there. Peter the rock When Jesus was talking to the disciples, he said to Peter, upon this rock I build this church. But the word for rock that Jesus used was not Petra – it was petro. Petro is a movable rock, a rock that can be picked up, that can be changed. Rock that is not reliable, but is still usable. Jesus did not build his church upon petra, but petro. Living Stones It is Peter’s words that I want us to consider this morning. He advises us to become living stones. Once again that is a strange term. Afterall stones are dead and lifeless. There is nothing that lives inside of a stone, except God. The story of Jesus reminds us that what was dead and lifeless can e bought back to life, with the power of God. Jesus calls himself living water. Now there is a such thing as living water. A river, a stream a creek is living water, because the water is moving. So a living stone is a stone that moves. Remember, Genesis says that he formed man by taking some dirt from the ground and breathing life into it. So there is regular dirt on the ground that does not move and breathe. And there is living dirt that breathes, walks and talks. You and me, we are God’s living stones. The church is not these concrete blocks, it is these living stones that do the work of God inside of here. GOD WANTS TO LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." Peter’s words of encouragement I Peter was not written to address a specific issue, it was written to all struggling churches to remind them of their task. To remind them of their faith. Peter believes that those who believe the gospel, must live the gospel. Cant read, and pray and go to church without being convicted of who Christ is. And when you know Christ, you love Christ, you live in Christ. When someone ask who you are – your answer is not about where your hometown is, it is not about what you do for a living, it is about who you are in the Spirit of Christ. God is the bedrock of your life, Christ is the cornerstone of your life, and you are God’s living stones. A piece of God lives in you. And you are a small piece of God. There’s a story that is often told in management textbooks about a man who was walking in the countryside one day. He happened upon a building site where three people were all working vigorously. Two were stonecutters; the third was an old woman, sweeping The traveler stopped and asked what they were doing. The first stonecutter answered, “I am making a living.” The traveler proffered his question to the second stonecutter. He didn’t look up, but kept on hammering while he said, “I am doing the best job of stonecutting in the entire county.” Then our traveler turned to the old woman with her broom. “What are you doing?” he asked. The old woman paused, set down her broom, and looked toward the heavens. With a visionary gleam in her eye she said, “I am building a cathedral to the glory of almighty God.” It’s a parable that rings true for us today, one that this extended metaphor of stones brought to mind. Of course, our text imagines us as stones, not as stonecutters. What could it mean to be a living stone? The first stonecutter thought he was his work, the second thought he was his own effort, but it was the third who realized that she was part of a larger whole. And that what she gave, contributed the the building of God’s kingdom. In this chapter – Peter gives us the ultimate encouragement. You are a royal priesthood, a chosen people, a holy nation. All of these images are in the old testament. As a matter of fact, Hosea names one of his children nobody – to remind the children of Israel that when they don’t have God inside of them- they are nobody. But with God’s help – they are somebody. They are a royal priesthood set aside for a special purpose. A Royal Preisthood A priest is one who leads others to the glory of God. A bridge, an intercessor. When we live God’s word in our lives, we lead others to God. The basis message of 1 Peter 2 is to have hope, to live holy, to love one another, to seek God like a baby seeks milk. And to live as God’s spiritual house. Living stones reflect the bedrock of God, the cornerstone of Christ. We are building used for God’s purposes. Let us pray… Amen. Children’s sermon…. (From a sermon by Glenn Durham, I Simply Must Have, 4/4/2011) We Are The Church by Wesley T. Runk Passage: 1 Peter 2:4-12 • Lectionary: Easter 5 Item 8 of 12 | Back to Results Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. Object: Toy building blocks Lesson: Good morning, boys and girls. How are you all today? (Let them respond.) Good. Do you see what I have with me today? What are these things? (Let them answer.) That's right. They are blocks. What do we do with them? (Let them answer.) Right. We use them for building things. What kinds of things can I build with these blocks? (Let them answer.) Yes, I could build all of those things, couldn't I? What if I wanted to build a church? Do you think I could do it with these blocks? (Let them answer.) Why couldn't I build a church with these blocks? (Let them answer.) That's right. I don't have enough blocks here. Besides that, I need blocks that are made out of brick or stone. These are too small and too weak to become part of a big building like a church. Boys and girls, did you know that Jesus and his disciples told us what to use when we are going to build a church? A long time ago we were told exactly how to put a church together. We don't use blocks like these, or bricks or wood. Can you guess what we should use to build our church? (Let them answer.) Those are good guesses, boys and girls. Jesus and his disciples told us that we are the blocks that are needed for our church! What do you think of that, boys and girls? (Let them respond.) That's right. You and I and your moms and dads and brothers and sisters -- all of us are the blocks that make up the church. That means each one of us is very important, doesn't it, boys and girls? Let me show you how important each one of us is. (Build a small pyramid, using your blocks.) Now, let's pretend that this is our church and that each one of these blocks is one of you. Every time we add one block we come closer to building our church. By ourselves we are only a block but when God puts us together we can be a wall and as he adds more and more we become a great building that Jesus calls his church. You see, boys and girls, that's just how important each one of you is to the whole church. Did you know you were that important, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) Well, you are! So let's all try to remember that every time we come to church. The whole church needs each one of us and we need one another. Will you try to remember that, boys and girls? (Let them respond.) Good. God bless you. Amen. WE ARE THE CHURCH, Wesley T. Runk, CSS Publishing Company, 1994, 0-7880-0101-9 Extra illustration You Know Your Master Is There There is a story told of a dying man who asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and he had his answer. "Do you hear that?" he asked his patient. "It's my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn't it the same with you? You don't know what lies beyond the Door, but you know that your Master is there." Alan Carr, Biblical Facts about a Place Called Heaven

Mothers: Shepherd of the sheep

May 11, 2014 Psalm 23 John 10:1-10 Mother’s Day Fourth Sunday of Easter Year A Mothers: Shepherd of the Sheep Have you seen that video going around last week, where young people are interviewing for a job, and told that they have to stand 24 hours a day, that they cannot have breaks, that they have to attend to the needs of the associates at all time. And that there is no pay for doing the job. Each of the applicants complains and says they don’t want this job. And the interviewer tells them that someone already has this job – it is your mother. Job Description: Mother I found this job description circulating on the Internet this past week. Anyone interested? [You may want/need to shorten this.] WANTED: Mom JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required. RESPONSIBILITIES: Must provide on-the-site training in basic life skills, such as nose blowing. Must have strong skills in negotiating, conflict resolution and crisis management. Ability to suture flesh wounds a plus. Must be able to think out of the box but not lose track of the box, because you most likely will need it for a school project. Must reconcile petty cash disbursements and be proficient in managing budgets and resources fairly, unless you want to hear, "He got more than me!" for the rest of your life. Also, must be able to drive motor vehicles safely under loud and adverse conditions while simultaneously practicing above-mentioned skills in conflict resolution. Must be able to choose your battles and stick to your guns. Must be able to withstand criticism, such as "You don't know anything." Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $5 to go skating. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices. Also, must have a highly energetic entrepreneurial spirit, because fund-raiser will be your middle name. Must have a diverse knowledge base, so as to answer questions such as "What makes the wind move?" on the fly. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility. ADVANCEMENT/PROMOTION POSSIBILITIES: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you. PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis. WAGES AND COMPENSATION: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more. BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right. Every mother here this morning knows that mothering brings more joy and love and fulfillment than seem possible. Adapted by Leonard Sweet The Value of the Job Being a mother is a demanding job. As a matter of fact, according to a recent report from Salary.com, a website dedicated to researching average salaries for various jobs and industries, reports stay-at-home moms would earn an average of $138,095 annually, including overtime, if they received a paycheck. Women who works a full-time 40 hour a week job could expect an additional $85,939 for the work done at home. Among the jobs the stay-at-home moms reported to Salary.com were day-care center teacher, van driver, housekeeper, cook, chief executive officer, computer operator, nurse and general maintenance worker. These are all jobs that are fairly easy to appoint a dollar value but like those MasterCard advertisements there are many “priceless” aspects to the job: the hug that comes at just the right time, the crust cut off the sandwich in just the right way, the reassuring laugh that reminds us not to take ourselves too seriously, and the countless other little things that we celebrate on Mother’s Day. Staff,www.eSermons.com. Statistics from Reuters.com ‘Stay-at-home Mothers Work Worth $138,095 a Year’ May 3, 2007. Our experience of mother are all very different, but we have all had someone who mothered us in some way. Someone who cared for us. Our mothers have loved each of us in a different way, but our mother has indeed loved us. In spite of all of the difficult times in our lives, they have loved us. A mother) can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe. ― N.K. Jemisin God is love, and God has created our mothers to be that agent of love. I think I told this story before, but Erma Bombeck tells the story of when God created mothers. One of my favorite columns by Erma Bombeck tells of God in the act of creating mothers. She says that on the day God created mothers He had already worked long overtime. And an angel said to Him, "Lord, you sure are spending a lot of time on this one." The Lord turned & said, "Have you read the specs on this model? She is supposed to be completely washable, but not plastic. She is to have 180 moving parts, all of them replaceable. She is to have a kiss that will heal everything from a broken leg to a broken heart. She is to have a lap that will disappear whenever she stands up. She is to be able to function on black coffee & leftovers. And she is supposed to have six pairs of hands." "Six pairs of hands," said the angel, "that’s impossible." "It’s not the six pairs of hands that bother me." said the Lord, "It’s the three pairs of eyes. She is supposed to have one pair that sees through closed doors so that whenever she says, `What are you kids doing in there?’ she already knows what they’re doing in there." "She has another pair in the back of her head to see all the things she is not supposed to see but must see. And then she has one pair right in front that can look at a child that just goofed & communicate love & understanding without saying a word." "That’s too much." said the angel, "You can’t put that much in one model. Why don’t you rest for a while & resume your creating tomorrow?" "No, I can’t," said the Lord. "I’m close to creating someone very much like myself. I’ve already come up with a model who can heal herself when she is sick - who can feed a family of six with one pound of hamburger - & who can persuade a nine year old to take a shower." Then the angel looked at the model of motherhood a little more closely & said, "She’s too soft." "Oh, but she is tough," said the Lord. "You’d be surprised at how much this mother can do." "Can she think?" asked the angel. "Not only can she think," said the Lord, "but she can reason & compromise & persuade." Then the angel reached over & touched her cheek. "This one has a leak," he said. "I told you that you couldn’t put that much in one model." "That’s not a leak," said the Lord. "That’s a tear." "What’s a tear for?" asked the angel. "Well it’s for joy, for sadness, for sorrow, for disappointment, for pride." "You’re a genius," said the angel. And the Lord said, "Oh, but I didn’t put it there." Our scripture for today, the 4th Sunday of Easter are always about what it means to be a shepherd’s love for its sheep. Jesus is the shepherd. Jesus showed love by the sacrifice he made for us. But Jesus showed devotion by what he taught us. In Jerusalem, Jesus knew sheep in the same way a cowboy in the west would know cattle, or a mother would know her children. Jesus knew what made a sheep tick, he understand their fears, he knew what it took to get them to follow him, he had patience and understanding for them. In many ways mothers are shepherds, they are our caretakers. Timmy was a little five year old boy that his Mom loved very much and, being a worrier, she was concerned about him walking to school all by himself when he started kindergarten. She walked him to school the first few days, but one day he came home and asked if he could walk by himself. He wanted to be like the "big boys." Not wanting to disappoint him, she decided to allow him to walk without her, via plan B (which consisted of recruiting a neighbor, Mrs. Goodnest, to repetitiously follow him to school, at a distance far enough behind him that he would not likely notice he was being followed, but close enough to keep a watch on him). Mrs. Goodnest was agreeable, since she was up early with her own toddler anyway, and it would be a good way for them to get some exercise. So, the very next school day Mrs. Goodnest and her little girl, Marcy, set out to follow behind Timmy as he walked to school. Timmy was accompanied by another neighbor boy he knew. As the boys walked to school each day, chatting, and kicking stones and twigs, the little friend of Timmy began to notice that a lady seemed to be following them every day. "Have you noticed that lady following us all week? Do you know her?" he asked Timmy. "Yea, I know who she is," Timmy replied "Well who is she?" "That's just Shirley Goodnest," Timmy said. "Shirley Goodnest? Who the is she? Why is she following us?" "Well," Timmy explained, "Every night Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm in my prayers 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in it the Psalm says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the days of my life,' so I guess I'll just have to get used to it." Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow us. when you think about the psalm – Psalm 22 Re-Interpeted The Lord is my Shepherd... That's Relationship! I shall not want... That's Supply! He maketh me to lie down in green pastures... That's Rest! He leadeth me beside the still waters... That's Refreshment! He restoreth my soul... That's Healing! He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness... That's Guidance! For His name sake... That's Purpose! Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death... That's Testing! I will fear no evil... That's Protection! For Thou art with me... That's Faithfulness! Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me... That's Discipline! Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies... That's Hope! Thou annointest my head with oil... That's Consecration! My cup runneth over... That's Abundance! Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life... That's Blessing! And I will dwell in the house of the Lord... That's Security! Forever and ever... That's Eternity! What is most valuable, is not what we have in our lives, but WHO we have in our lives! Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all of the days of our life no matter how old we get. How can we reply to the love that our mothers gave us. what is it that we can give them to say thank you. Studies say that no matter what we may give them that all they really want is for us to know that they love them. For us to be able to acknowledge all that they have done for us, and to realize that it is all about love. No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love. It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star. — Edwin Hubbell Chapin One pastor suggest that there are 7 ways to show our mothers that we love them. Love her verbally, physically, patiently, attentively, gratefully, generously, honorably I want to add one more to that list – to learn to love others. Am I Loved? I had a professor in Childhood Development who said, "All it would take to have a perfect world is just one generation of perfect parents." I believed that until mid-life, when I saw several nearly perfect parents who had terrible children. But the concept is generally true--we learn to love because we were loved first. We love, according to the Bible, because God loved us first. We all need to be loved. And we grow up testing whether we are indeed loved. One of the basic questions of our youth is, "Am I loved?" It is asked in the back seat of a car. It is asked at a party. It is asked with defiance at home. It is asked with incomplete homework at school. It is asked when drugs are offered around in friendship groups. It is asked when a gang leader suggests an initiation rite. "By this you know you are loved…." Everyone here today, mothers or not, needs to ask, "How am I demonstrating love?" Is it in a way that others can experience? Paul Sweet, This I Know Amen. Children’s Sermon….. Theme: Show your love by your actions (Mother's Day) Object: A Mother's Day card Scripture: This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:9-11, 21 (NIV) I am sure that all of you know that it is Mother's Day. Did you give your mother a card or a present for Mother's Day? This Mother's Day card says, "Mom, I love you!" Do you think your mother likes to hear you tell her that you love her? Of course she does! But do you know what your mother would like even more? She would like for you to show her that you love her. What are some ways you can show your mother that you love her? Well, you might help out around the house. You could clean your room or empty the trash. You could show her that you love her by obeying her when she tells you to do something. You can show her you love her by getting along with your brothers and sisters. It is easy to tell your mom that you love her, but if you really love her, your actions will show it! Do you think that God likes to hear us tell Him that we love Him? I know He does. But He likes it even better when our actions show Him that we love Him. How do we do that? The Bible tells us that, "God showed his love for us by sending His one and only Son so that we might live through him." It goes on to say that, "since God loved us so much, we ought to love one another." One of the best ways to show our love for God is to love one another. Yes, God likes to hear us say, "I love you," but He would rather see us say, "I love you." As we celebrate Mother's Day, let's tell Mom that we love her, but more important, let's remember to show her that we love her. And as we worship today, let's tell God we love him, but more important, let's remember to show him we love him by loving one another. Dear Lord, we have come to your house today to say, "I love you." Help us to go out of here today and show you that we love you by our actions. Amen. Other illustrations…… A LITTLE GIRL’S PRAYER One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died, leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator) and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. "All right," I said, "Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm." The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby’ll be dead, so please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?" As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen"? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home; anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys; eyes sparkled as I pulled them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas --- that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the ..... could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out --- yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle! I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?" That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child --- five months before --- in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year old to bring it "that afternoon." ~By Helen Roseveare~ Helen Roseveare is a medical missionary and author from England who served for years in the former Belgian Congo. THE BEST PREACHER IN THE FAMILY G. Campbell Morgan, a profound British preacher whose four sons all became pastors, influenced millions with his preaching, teaching and writing. One day, when his young son Howard finished preached, a reporter asked him, "Since you have five Pastors in your family who is the greatest preacher? Expecting the son to give the honor to his father, Howard surprised the reporter by saying, "My Mother!" Often people do not realize that a mother’s love, concern and teaching are often far more influential on people than anything else. Never underestimate the power of love. God treats you the way one mother treated her young son, Timmy. She didn’t like the idea of his walking to school alone. But he was too grown-up to be seen with his mother. She did her best to stay calm, quoting the 23rd Psalm to him every morning: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” One day she asked a neighbor who walked with her daughter to follow Timmy to school, but to stay at a distance. After several days Timmy’s little friend said, “Do you know that woman who follows us to school?” “Sure,” Timmy answered. “That’s Shirley Goodnest and her daughter, Marcy.” My mom reads about them every day in the 23rd Psalm She says they will follow me all the days of my life. So, I guess I better get used to them! You will too. God never sends you out alone! Taken from Fearless The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. -Psalm 23 A pastor was giving a lesson to a group of children on the 23rd Psalm. He noticed that one of the little boys seemed disquieted by the phrase “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life…” “What’s wrong with that, Johnny? ” the pastor asked. “Well, ” answered Johnny, “I understand about having goodness and mercy, for God is good. But I’m not sure I’d like Shirley following me around all the time. ” A pastor was giving a lesson to a group of children on the 23rd Psalm. He noticed that one of the little boys seemed disquieted by the phrase “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life…” “What’s wrong with that, Johnny? ” the pastor asked. “Well, ” answered Johnny, “I understand about having goodness and mercy, for God is good. But I’m not sure I’d like Shirley following me around all the time. ” source: http://www.jokebuddha.com/joke/Goodness_and_mercy#ixzz31My0VSbt Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away! A mother) can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe. ― N.K. Jemisin

On the Road to Salvation

May 4, 2014 Luke 24:13-35 Third after Easter On the Way to Salvation Year A Emmaus. Scripture says that Emmaus was either 60 stadia or 160 stadia away from Jerusalem. That could be 7 miles of 18 miles away. No one knows where these two people were really going. Today there are dozens of sites which claim to be Emmaus. I think that there is a very important point in that. Because I think, that the real Emmaus could be anywhere in the world. It is not a tourist attraction it is a place in our spirits. It is the place in our lives where Easter becomes real. This story takes place on Easter night. The disciples are traveling home after a very harrowing day. These disciples are walking him 7 miles away, they are recounting the events of the week and are overwhelmed, dejected and sad. Blinded by sadness They just want to go home and climb into bed and feel sorry for themselves. They didn’t notice anything or anybody. Jesus could have been walking right along with them, and they would not have noticed. As a matter of fact, Jesus was walking along with them. They just did not recognize him as the Christ. There are people in the world today, who do not know that Easter has come and gone. They are still living the same life. Sadness, depression, pessimism, disbelief, an unwillingness to see change, all shade our thinking and our seeing. When we are caught up in our feelings, we are not open to Christ’s presence in our lives. We just want to crawl into a dark hole and stay there. In this case, possums are actually smarter then people. Possums and graves Possums like to crawl into holes too. But before they crawl- they look at the foot prints of those who may have crawled in that same hole. If there are only one set of foot prints going into that hole, they don’t go into that hole. If there are only one set of prints in the hole, then that means that whomever crawled into that hole – for some reason is still there. Either they crawled in and did not make it out alive, or they are still in there alive and well and just waiting for someone else to crawl in. You don’t want to crawl into somewhere that you cant crawl out of. If there are two sets of tracks into and out of the hole – them it is safe to go in. there comes a time in our lives when you have to crawl out of the hole and see the light. And live in the light. Jesus is our second set of tracks. Jesus is the source that can give us the power to crawl out of our hole. The resurrection gives us the power to crawl out and live in the light. The resurrection changes everything The world changes all of the time. But sometimes we can get so caught up in our circumstance that we don’t witness the shift. When Jesus was raised from the dead the world shifted, our future shifted. Our salvation shifted. Our circumstance in the world changed in an instant. The resurrection changes everything. It transforms us. It moves us from despair to new possibilities of life. It takes us in our blindness and opens our eyes. It transforms ordinary bread into a holy meal. It takes two sad and lost brothers on the road to Emmaus who had lost the only the world they knew and gives it back to them. Jesus comes to them and says see I am not dead. I am alive. Now tell the world. Brett Blair,www.Sermons.com Luke wants us to know There are many stories of appearances of Jesus told throughout the gospels. But this story is only told in Luke. Luke needs to tell this particular story for two reasons. First, he wants us to realize that this was not a vision, but a real encounter. Something happened on Easter, and after it happened the world was different. This is the story of how the disciples responded to that difference. How do you respond to the news of he resurrection. Secondly, he wants us to realize that what happened on that day is not intended to be a secret. It was something for everyone to witness for themselves. We are still on a 7 mile journey from tragedy to salvation. We can still get so caught up on our sorrows, that we cant even recognize Jesus. Jesus is alive and well and appearing to us in our daily lives. The resurrection is not a belief, it is an encounter. When you encounter Christ, then belief in miracles becomes a moot point. What really matters is if your spirit is prepared for that encounter. The more you believe in miracles, the more you realize when they happen. Last week on facebook, there was a viral story about who family members dressed up as homeless people on the street. And other members walked down the street and did not even see them, they just kept walking. But here is an even better story – of a woman taking a run through the park. She faintly heard a noise, stopped to investigate and realized that it was a newborn baby. She quickly saw that the baby had been abandoned. She had been wanting to have kids forever, so she took the baby home. That night in bed she was talking to her husband about what do to welcome the new baby. Bored with the conversation, he turned over in the bed to go to sleep. She scolded him and told him that is not how you respond to a miracle. He needed to turn back around. How do you respond to a miracle? The two travelers walking with a stranger, invited him to dinner. Abide With Us In the King James Version of the Bible, the invitation of the two travelers reads, "Abide with me; for it is toward evening and the day is far spent,"words which were the inspiration for that beloved hymn, "Abide with me/Fast falls the eventide." The hymn was written by Henry Francis Lyte, for 25 years the vicar of the parish at Devonshire, England. He was 54 years old, broken in health and saddened by dissensions in his congregation. On Sunday, September 4, 1847 he preached his farewell sermon and went home to rest. After tea in the afternoon, he retired to his study. In an hour or two, he rejoined his family, holding in his hand the manuscript of his immortal hymn. It was in that abiding, in that fellowship with jesus that they finally came to see him for who he is. Three Table Fellowships "The Scriptures speak of three kinds of table fellowship that Jesus keeps with his own: daily fellowship at table, the table fellowship of the Lord's Supper, and the final table fellowship in the kingdom of God. But in all three, the one thing that counts is that 'their eyes were opened, and they knew him.' "The fellowship of the table teaches Christians that here they still eat the perishable bread of the earthly pilgrimage. But if they share this bread with one another, they shall also one day receive the imperishable bread together in the Father's house." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954), 66. They saw Jesus in the remembering Jesus comes to us in strange ways and in even stranger people. My seven year old nephew tends to have a wisdom way beyond his age. He always says things that make me wonder, where someone so young could get such insight for life. I gave him a card for his birthday, and he said that he would treasure it forever. As he reflected on his mother’s death, he said that he is learning that sometimes that all that we have is our memories. So we have to keep our memories, because they are special. As Jesus spoke with the two travelers, he started to recount some of his lessons, and it was when they remembered what Jesus had taught them, they were able to see who was really with them. Jesus comes to us in the reading of the scriptures and in the breaking of bread. Coming together in communion Our whole understanding of what communion is, comes from the book of Luke. Luke believed that miracles happened when disciples gather together in fellowship and unity. We cant help but to see Christ when we are willing to faithfully come together. When we are spiritually grounded in scripture and united in fellowship we see Christ for ourselves, and we are able to show Christ to others. What difference does the resurrection make to you? How can you see Christ in the world today? How do you look for a miracle? Anticipation: What Is Going to Happen Today? In Winnie the Pooh, Pooh and Piglet take an evening walk. For a long time they walk in silence. Silence like only best friends can share. Finally Piglet breaks the silence and asks, "When you wake up in the morning, Pooh, what's the first thing you say to yourself?" "What's for breakfast?" answers Pooh and then asks. "And what do you say, Piglet?" Piglet says, "I say, I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today?" You and I can't really plan to meet the Risen Christ because we never really know when or where He's going to show up. But you can be sure of this, He will show up. If you believe, He will show up. And the attitude you need to meet him is the attitude of Piglet, "I wonder what exciting thing is going to happen today?" Amen. Children’s Sermon Billy D. Strayhorn, Easter Heart Burn Jesus Makes the Bible Come Alive by Wesley T. Runk Passage: Luke 24:13-35 • Lectionary: Easter 3 Item 2 of 9 | Back to Results They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" Objects: An unsharpened pencil, an unused candle and a radio that is not playing. Lesson: Good morning, boys and girls. How would you like to take a walk down a road with Jesus? (Let them answer.) Wouldn't that be great? Just imagine how wonderful it would be to talk with Jesus and spend one day outdoors in the sunshine with him. I can't think of how to have a better time. People did that with Jesus. As a matter of fact, there is a story in the Bible about a couple of men who were walking down a road between towns when they were joined by Jesus. They didn't recognize him then, but they enjoyed him so much that they invited him to spend the evening at their house. Jesus taught them many things about the Scriptures, and they were amazed. They said afterwards that he had opened the Scriptures for them. It was as if they had never seen the Bible before, when really they had studied it often. But Jesus was such a wonderful teacher that he made people feel as these men felt. We should all discover the Bible and the things that it teaches us. I brought along some things that I hope will help you to want to read the Bible and learn all that you can from it. And when you read the Bible you should read it as though you were seeing it through the eyes of Jesus. First of all, I brought a pencil along with me. What's wrong with this pencil? (Let them answer.) That's right, it doesn't have a point. There is no lead. You can't write with a pencil like this. Next, I have a candle. What's wrong with my candle? (Let them answer.) That's right, it isn't burning and it can't give light unless it is burning. I also have a radio with me but there is something wrong with the radio. What's wrong with it? (Let them answer.) Right again, it isn't being played. A pencil without a point, a candle without a flame, and a radio without sound, is like reading the Scriptures without Jesus. Jesus is the one who makes the Scriptures happen. When you read the Scriptures or Bible and you see it or hear it as Jesus would tell it then the Bible comes alive and it is the most wonderful book that was ever written. The next time you sit down to read the Bible, I want you to imagine that Jesus is talking to you and telling you the story. When you hear the voice you will know how the men felt who took the walk with Jesus down a dusty road after his resurrection. THE ONE-HANDED CLOCK, Wesley T. Runk, C.S.S. Publishing Company, 1989, 1-55673 Despite what most think, Lyte's "eventide" has nothing to do with the end of the natural day but rather the end of life. "Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day/Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away." The words are about the faith that face life and death fearlessly and triumphantly in the light of the cross and the empty tomb....East of Easter. Thus Lyte could conclude, "Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee/In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me." Vicar Lyte died three months later. David E. Leininger, East of Easter "On Sunday morning in contemporary America, modern disciples come straggling through the church door weighed down by cynicism, stress, and strife. We are too busy, too suspicious to recognize the risen Christ." Susan Andrews Jesus' Post Resurrection Appearances To Mary Magdalene Jn 20:14-18; Mk 16:9 To the women returning from the tomb Mt 28:8-10 To Peter later in the day Lk 24:34; 1 Cor 15:5 To the disciples going to Emmaus in the evening Lk 24:13-31 To the apostles (except Thomas) Lk 24:36-45; Jn 20-19-24 To the apostles a week later (Thomas present) Jn 20:24-29 In Galilee to the seven by the Lake of Tiberias Jn 21:1-23 In Galilee on a mountain to the apostles and 500 believers 1 Cor 15:6 At Jerusalem and Bethany again to James 1 Cor 15:7 At Olivet and the ascension Acts 1:3-12 To Paul near Damascus Acts 9:3-6; 1 Cor 15:8 To Stephen outside Jerusalem Acts 7:55 To Paul in the temple Acts 22:17-21; 23:11 To John on Patmos Rev 1:10-19 The New Unger's Bible Handbook, Merrill F. Unger, Revised by Gary N. Larson, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984, Page 397-398 When the Circus Comes I am reminded of the story of the little boy whose grandmother regularly took him to her weekly prayer meeting. He was bored silly, but being a good lad he endured it. One day he was invited to attend the circus. He had never been to a circus before. He came away from this experience anxious to share with his dear grandmother what he was feeling. "Grandma," he said, "I went to the circus today, and let me tell you, once you have been to the circus you'll never want to go to another prayer meeting." And so it will be when God opens our minds to understand and experience God's marvelous, incredible risen presence. Something happens that sets us free, which renews and refreshes our sense of God's love, grace, and forgiveness that simply cannot be contained. Greg McDonell, Out of the Ashes POSSUMS AND THE GRAVE I have heard that possums are smart animals. You wouldn’t think so because you hardly ever see one except when it’s dead on the road. There’s a joke that goes, “why did the chicken cross the road? To prove to the possum that it could be done!” But possums, it turns out, are smart. They won’t enter a hole if there’s just one set of tracks going into it. They know there’s something in there. But if there are two sets of tracks. The possum will enter and not be afraid. The message of Easter is that we can enter the grave - we don’t have to fear death because there are tracks leading out of the tomb. Paul preached the proclamation of Easter: "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" This is the message that we need to hear this Easter. Jesus is risen! We are not asked to believe the doctrine of the Resurrection. We are asked to meet this person raised from the dead. Larson, B., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1983). Vol. 26: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 26 : Luke. The Preacher’s Commentary series (349). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc. Do You Know the Way to Emmaus? Do you know the way to Emmaus? It should be relatively easy to find because the text locates the town "seven miles from Jerusalem." But no one has ever been able to identify an "Emmaus" seven miles from Jerusalem. Perhaps there is confusion because two different numbers appear in ancient manuscripts at the point at which Luke gives us the location. Some texts say "60 stadia," and others say "160," which works out roughly to be either 7 miles or 18 miles. Although there are indeed many references to Emmaus in ancient sources, none of them give us any specific directions. Because of this, the unlikely village of Amwas (20 miles from Jerusalem) is currently a popularly recognized site for pilgrimage, even though other towns have stronger claims to be the historical town. Ironically, the seemingly superficial mystery regarding the actual location of Emmaus fits in nicely with the deepest meaning of this passage. Do you know the way to Emmaus? Emmaus may be here, or there, or anywhere. The site of the original episode is irrelevant. Christ will travel wherever his followers are going. Christ will appear wherever they break bread. Even here. Even now. David E. Leininger, Do You Know the Way to Emmaus? -141-8